Memorial Day Weekend: BBQ

What's a Memorial Day weekend without a BBQ!? Not that Andy ever needs an excuse to smoke or grill something, but long holiday weekends can never be BBQ free!

We invited Greg, Erica and Roxie over on Saturday night and were so happy that the weather cooperated. We spent much of our time out on the deck and the dogs got to chase after one another.






Andy made a twist on one of our stand by appetizer--jalapeno poppers--but instead of stuffing them whole, he cut them in half and put all the toppings on them, then baked them rather than grilling them (the grill was too full of ribs!) They were really good and not too hot (thanks to Andy removing the seeds.)



We also enjoyed some homemade potato salad, Greg & Erica's famous baked beans, corn on the cob, corn bread muffins, and fall off the bone ribs! Seriously, the ribs were competition worthy! Andy really knows how to cook 'em!

For dessert, I decided that our trifle bowl had spent far too long as a centerpiece holder and so after a thorough washing, I used it to actually make a trifle--imagine that! I think we'll keep the trifle bowl "center piece" free for awhile and use it for more desserts throughout the summer.



After a great meal, we took the dogs out back to play some ladder golf. Liddy and Roxie had a great time running around, though little Roxie is hard to keep track of in the dark! Fortunately, Liddy kept a good eye on her.



It was a great night and we're hoping Liddy wore Roxie out enough that she let Greg and Erica sleep in until at least 7:30 on Sunday! :)

Memorial Day Weekend: Boat

One of our goals this weekend was to get some good boat time in. I hadn't been out on Wally since the fall and Andy had been dying to take his son for his first ever boat ride!! :)

We woke up really early on Sunday so that we'd have a chance to go for a ride before our golf tournament. We had been promising Liddy a swim and couldn't take those puppy dog eyes any longer (boy does she have us wrapped around her little paw or what!?)



We got out to Belmont Bay, where we typically throw anchor and spend the day swimming, and you could see the excitement in Liddy's face. She was so happy to see all that water and couldn't wait to jump in! Of course, we don't really let her jump, but rather Andy threw her (nicely) in! She was in heaven!



Watching her swim got us all excited about being back at our weekend spot, so we decided to head back out there yesterday to enjoy some Memorial Day boating! The weather held out for a little while, and we got some good sun and some swimming in for ourselves.



Liddy also got to dive back in and was thoroughly exhausted and ready for us to head back to work today!!



Mission accomplished!

Memorial Day Weekend: Golf

We had a fantastic long weekend, and in fact we extended it a little by taking off half day on Friday. We figured we'd knock off early so we could get a round of golf in.

We recently acquired a new gadget that we were excited to try out. Andy got us the Sky Caddie GPS that tells you all the yardages on the golf course. Now instead of relying on faulty yardage markers on the course, we have actual real time data that tells you everything from how many yards to lay up to the creek to how many yards you need to carry the creek and land on the back of the green. Pretty great and makes club selection so much more accurate.

Andy and I were amazed at how long some of our greens are, and when the pin is in the back, you don't realize how many yards that really adds to your shot. With this new gadget we both hit different clubs than we normally would to get to the pin, and look how close our shots got...now, this doesn't mean we had record breaking rounds, but we did cut a few strokes off our play as a result!



Sunday we hoped to take the success we had on Friday and build on it for the annual Sunday Couples' Tournament, but alas, we did not have such good fortune. I'd blame part of that on the torrential down pour we experienced in the middle of the round--and poor Andy was walking and didn't have an umbrella. Needless to say, we fell apart a bit after that and had a hard time getting back into the groove. We later drowned our sorrows in some awesome Chinese food and all was well!

Despite our performance, we had a great time playing with each other and for the most part enjoyed the great weather and got some color to show for it. Every time we play together we are reminded how lucky we are that we are able to enjoy this activity together and soon we'll have a third person to add to our group! :)

Introducing Molly Virginia...

My very good friend, Jon, and his wife Erin, welcomed their first child yesterday afternoon, Molly Virginia.

Jon and I met at Virginia Tech and have been best buds ever since. I am hopeful that little Molly follows in her father's footsteps and heads to Virginia Tech herself (rather than her mother's Alma mater, Notre Dame, boo) so she and baby boy Gribble can also meet up one day and be best buds as well.

Congratulations to Jon and Erin, and can't wait to meet baby girl Molly!

Before and after...

Poor little Liddy had been bumping into things lately as she could barely see through all the hair on her little face! (ok, she really wasn't bumping into anything, which is actually rather amazing.)

We always seem to get her groomed the week before Memorial Day, and thank goodness it is coming early this year as I don't think she could have gone another week! Here is a shot of her in her full puffiness before her visit to the Old Towne Pet Resort...

And here she is after a day of grooming and pampering...

So great to see her beautiful brown eyes again!! She is definitely ready to kick off the unofficial start to the summer this weekend!

A quick (and small) Greeley reunion...

On Sunday, my cousin Melissa and her boyfriend John, stopped by my parent's house for a visit. They have been living in Greenville, SC working as physical therapists, but are headed back to New England in search of work in cooler temperatures!

They had their adorable black labs, Sam and Lexie, with them. Sam is almost four and Lexie is still a puppy. They were so well behaved, and Liddy loved meeting both of them. She and Lexie played together while Sam sort of acted as referee.




It was great to catch up with Melissa and to finally meet John. He passed the "Virginia Greeley" test! Now on to meet the rest of the crazy, but all too loveable, Greeley crew!

Fight night...

On Saturday night, Andy and I attended our first ever boxing match. It was amateur night at the LA Boxing in Herndon, and one of our golfing buddies was competing. We weren't really sure what to expect, but the proceeds went to charity, and we figured it would make for some good people watching!

Our friend, Matt, is almost 41 (the oldest competitor of the night) and fought under the name "Unbendable." At 6'1", he weighed in at 165 lbs! Guess that's what 5 hours of boxing a day will do for you! (Note to self, sign up for boxing classes after baby G is born.)

The venue wasn't too big, but the place was packed! I think Andy and I were the only one's there without tatoos! We'll have to get some fake ones before the next fight night!

They had an announcer all decked out in his tux, a bald referee (think that's a pre-requisite for being a boxing ref), and of course a skantily clad "ring girl." We were definitley getting the full boxing experience!

There were two fights to watch before Matt's, one was a heavy weight match where we did see some blood, and the other was a kick-boxing match. The kick boxing was crazy, and the loser will have welts on his sides and stomach for at least a few weeks! Ouch!

When it came time for "Unbendable's" match, I was feeling pretty warmed up (watching those first punches made me nervous for him, but I quickly got over that) and ready to cheer him on. Since these are amateur matches they wear 16 ounce gloves and wear head gear---smart!

"Unbendable" fought a great match, and although he was slowly recovering from a fever, he still came out the unanimous victor! Great job "Unbendable!" Now let's see how you do in Sunday's golf tournament!!

Pad Thai=Breakfast of Champions!?

Well, it turns out that Pad Thai is the new breakfast of champions!! Andy played lights out on Saturday!! It was a great day (for him, not so great for me, but I'm still working around this belly of mine) and although it seems like an odd breakfast, it certainly did the trick for Andy!

Guess we'll be cooking up Pad Thai around our house more often! :)

Date night...

After another great doctor's appointment (baby's heartbeat is still nice and strong) Andy and I decided to go on a little date.

We started by seeing "Angels and Demons." I was a little worried about it, as I didn't really care for the movie version of "The Davinci Code," however I knew that of the two books, "Angels and Demons" was my favorite. We were both pleasantly surprised by how much better this movie was! Tom Hanks looked great (well, I always think that...just one of my things) and the action and acting for that matter trumped "The Davinci Code." If you haven't read the book, I recommend doing so, and then go see the movie, you won't be disappointed.

After the movie (yes, we caught the 4:50 to qualify for matinee pricing) we headed to Bone Fish for dinner. We hadn't been there in awhile, but our bartender Mike, was happy to see us and was excited to see the progress baby G was making. We enjoyed a very tasty appetizer of steamed mussels and then basically took our entrees home with us as we realized the mussels were more filling than we originally thought.

Meanwhile, Andy just enjoyed the leftovers for breakfast! Shrimp Pad Thai=breakfast of champions? I guess we'll find out when we hit the links this afternoon!

A Happy (actual) Mother's Day Weekend...

It was so nice to finally see the clouds and rain disappear to make room for the sun who has been hiding for far too long, especially in time for the weekend!

Our plan for yesterday was to head out to Andy's parents' house to celebrate Mother's Day with the family. It seems every time we make these plans, the weather never seems to cooperate, so we were even more excited that the sun was shining!! Andy's folks have a terrific backyard which was central to yesterday's festivities.

I spent much of the time sitting in the sun watching the various activities that were taking place. Andy playing ladder golf with anyone brave enough to compete against him (ok, really just anyone willing to play with him, ha!), Drew and Nick were showing off some mad lacrosse skills, Sam and Davey were running around coming up with new ways to entertain themselves, and little Kurt found that cheering everyone on made him quite content. Liddy of course was in the middle of all of the action trying to figure out which ball to chase and will now be thoroughly zonked out for the next week!








Watching all the nephews running around and playing with each other got us even more excited about our little boy that will be joining their ranks soon enough! I'm not sure a little girl would stand a chance against all those boys!!

In addition to great backyard fun, we also got to enjoy a great dinner of grilled chicken, salad from the garden, Italian sausages, potato salad and really great corn on the cob! My father-in-law also made a great cake that my brother-in-law Mark helped to decorate. It was a great way to wrap up a wonderful Mother's Day meal.




I hope all the moms (and moms to be) out there had a great day! You all deserve it!

Little kicks...

I've been feeling little flutters from Baby Gribble for a few weeks now. However Friday night, I actually felt little kicks and yesterday, Andy was able to feel the little guy for the first time. It was pretty amazing! Now, let's just hope he doesn't kick me around too much!! :)

An early Mother's Day weekend...

I celebrated Mother's Day a week early due to the gift I had gotten for my mom. Saturday morning she and I played in our WGA Spring Fling tournament--neither of us won or got holes in one, but then, how often does that really happen!? :) We did have fun though and only got rained on for about two holes--enough to scare some of the men of the course (like my Dad)--but then the sun came out and the joke was on them! ha!

After golf my mom came home with me and we got all dolled up, watched the lead up to the Kentucky Derby, and then had to leave before they ran the race to head to the Kennedy Center. As my gift to my mom, I had bought us tickets to go see Ragtime. It is an excellent musical that came out back in the late 90's and we've been dying for it to grace the stage again ever since. The cast was phenomenal with excellent voices all around. It was a great way to thank my mom for being so wonderful!

Happy (early) Mother's Day Mom!!! :)